The good news — and it is good news — is that production of domestic oil has increased by about 1.6 million barrels a day in the past three years.

Increases in oil and natural gas production allow the U.S. to provide affordable energy to families and businesses and reduce the potential risks from relying on hostile foreign states — often, for those whose concerns are primarily environmental, with far worse track records on responsible development — to meet our energy needs.

Domestic oil and natural gas production also creates jobs for American workers.

“We produce more energy than any country in the world,” American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers told a reporter for The Center Square, as reported in Friday’s edition. “This benefits our economy, our national security and is our insurance in a volatile time.”

The more concerning or troubling news is that the sites for this increase in production are almost entirely on private land or on federal land where the leases were authorized under previous presidential administrations.

Other causes for concern include the inaction at both the state and federal level to reform and streamline permitting processes so new projects can contribute to our energy needs more quickly and effectively and the pipeline infrastructure in Pennsylvania remains inadequate to transport natural gas to market.

Much of the resistance to improving the permitting processes and upgrading the pipeline infrastructure comes from those among our political leaders who are more beholden to the doomsday rhetoric of environmental extremists.

We can continue — as their constituents and voters — to press our legislators and executives to embrace American energy independence. We can vote for candidates who recognize that a diverse, multifaceted approach to energy — one that includes more renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydroelectric in tandem with oil and natural gas production — serves the needs of our society better.

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